Multi-Dimensional Movements
There is a lot of fitness equipment – tried and new – that can be used to add extra challenge to your muscles. Sandbells and sand-filled ropes by SPRI are one of my personal favorites – the change in the sand movement creates unexpected shifts that forces you to engage a lot of muscles. Coordination and balance are important for everyone and especially seniors, so there is a big potential for sand-filled equipment. Don’t forget the improvement in power and performance!
Holly Hargrave is a fan of sand ball – a neoprene ball filled with sand – which she frequently uses in AthleticGenius classes. The ball is essentially a soft lever with weight varying from 3, 5 or 8 lbs. She lists a few reasons why:
1) Safety: You can use Sand balls in every way you can use standard weights or kettle bells. However, if you perform a movement incorrectly and/or somehow lose your balance or grip; a Sand ball can minimize injury via grip and impact. Imagine the difference between hitting yourself accidentally with a neoprene ball vs. an iron weight or iron kettle bell.
2) Effectiveness: Sand balls are “free-form” meaning you can perform multi-dimensional movements. The shift of sand inside the ball creates an opposing gravitational force that challenges you to focus on balance and control of momentum. Opposed to a traditional weight that allows you to “cheat” by “swinging” an object allowing momentum that can result in injury via over extension. At AG our mantra is “gravity is not your friend” movement should be controlled via balance, strength and awareness. The softness of the Sand ball allows you to literally “squeeze” the ball, deeply engaging the muscles in a multi-tasking effort…. strategy equals results.
A few examples of how Holly works the Sand ball training at AthleticGenius: Rotational abdominal twists, chest presses, triceps’ extensions, bicep curls, and shoulder presses work every muscle group you forgot you had.
“We focus on squeezing the sand ball and elongating the torso through the abs while engaging perfect posture to increase strength, balance and mobility. Bottom line, we work it all….. No matter the muscle we focus upon we consistently work core. Power is palpable.”
Multiple Modalities – a Double Punch
Combining various exercise modalities is not only a big time-saver but typically works more muscles, speeds up your metabolism and gives you more fitness bang for your buck. One example at AthleticGenius is “SandBLAST & Wicked Cycling”. It’s a combination of an indoor elite Keiser cycling bike while using sand ball and maintaining peddling pace. Then, off the bike and onto the mat. It’s Tabata based, cardio, posture and strength class.
Another great combination is Corefire: a unique combination of rowing and Pilates machines equipment. The advantage is that it’s a small class with a limited number of clientele, since the rowing machines are large, leading to greater attention to safety, strength and lack of injury.
One of the newly popular classes is Time Crunch fitness – a perfect idea for moms. Participants come to a 45 minute class and childcare is taken care of. When you’re multitasking, you can fit a lot in a short amount of time.
At South Jordan Fitness, they offer a Triple “S” class including step training and dumbbells – focusing on high intensity cardio, flexibility, strength and stretching.
West Hollywood’s Best U studio has a popular Best U class – a combination of Pilates, barre, ballet and a weighted U bar.
With many independent gyms around the country and at popular chains, the options are ever-growing, and the reason is gym-goers want more – more results, more accomplished in the hour, multi-tasking during their exercise time.
High Intensity Interval Training
While this type of a workout will not bode well for beginners, it has great benefits for those looking to improve their cardiovascular fitness level and also torches calories. Let’s not forget how you can do more in less time – multi-tasking at its best. Doing these intervals with bodyweight training is not only a functional experience but is also inexpensive. The best thing? You can do it anywhere. And Holly Hargrave of AthleticGenius says bodyweight training is “not going anywhere – it focuses you to work on form, getting back to basics – pushups, planks, squats.”
HIIT training is sometimes used as one approach fits all, so we have to be cautious, since for new exercisers it may result in an injury. When done right, it can be extremely efficient, not only boosting your cardiovascular endurance but pushing large muscles. An American Council on Exercise study showed the effectiveness of Tabata workouts (a type of HIIT workout with 4 minutes of 8 intervals of 20 seconds full-out work and 10 seconds rest intervals) when it comes to cardiovascular strength. Aside from Tabata, the interval length of a HIIT workout can and should be different for different fitness levels – the rest intervals will be shorter and work longer and more intense for a more advanced person. Another advantage of this kind of training, is that it also is helpful in maintaining your blood sugar levels, so there are positive consequences for those with diabetes.
The bottom line is that it boosts your metabolism and burns more calories in less time, while also helping make your heart stronger.
Digital Tracking and Engagement
It seems the fitness trackers are everywhere and there are options for what you need to monitor – steps, stairs, minutes, heart rate, even sleep and caloric expenditure, and many of them look so stylish, it’s a new fitness accessory. They are also the ultimate multi-tasker, helping you monitor your activity, add your nutrition, and keep it all under your control – making people feel they are truly in charge of their fitness and wellness. A very important distinction, according to Dr. Christy Lane, cofounder and CEO of Vivametrica, is
“making these monitors work for you by appropriate and personalized goal setting. In theory, each of these tracked variables could represent a goal. One person could choose to increase their steps, as well as their number of hours of sleep per night, while another person could be interested in tracking how their heart rate responds to physical activity in the vigorous range. Again, the key is setting goals and choosing how to properly track those goals.”
Many of the fitness trackers on the market – FitBit, Garmin, Jawbone – help you sync with fitness apps like MyFitness Pal or Calorie Count or LoseIt.
“There is not one app or tracker in my opinion that stands out in terms of helping to motivate people”, says Dr. Lane, “They all provide representations of the biometric data (steps, heart rate etc.), capability to enter additional data (food intake, blood pressure etc.) and capability to set goals. In my opinion, the game changer will be apps that provide a greater depth of analysis and interpretation of the data. In particular, we need analysis that is in line with the current standards in exercise science and clinical practice. This is what we are trying to do at Vivametrica.”
As with any kind of assessment – which is what trackers do essentially – what matters is how you interpret it and what you do with the information.
Dr. Lane says “In order for them to be useful in motivating people, people need to understand what the measurements mean. How many steps SHOULD I be taking? What SHOULD my heart rate be when I am exercising? What does it mean for my health that I get 4 hours of restful sleep per night? Ideally, these interpretations will be provided directly by health professionals, or through applications, like Vivametrica that are designed by health experts. I believe that in the future, you will upload your tracker data to be seen by your personal trainer, physical therapist or physician. Then, just like any other piece of health information, this data would be used as part of your care and goal setting. Research tells us that the best chance for behavior change occurs when a person is ‘intrinsically motivated’. This means that the person wants to change and believes that change is within their control. People need to understand their data in order for it to help them become motivated. I see it as a cycle: measure, understand, motivate, act, measure, understand, motivate, and act. Without the understanding you are less likely to see motivation and action.”
Small Group Training
One of the big trends in 2015 and for many years to come, I believe, is small group training. I am surprised that Small Group clubs do not exist yet. This approach helps people who are intimidated, uncomfortable or unmotivated partner up to have an effective workout together. The positives are partner motivation, inspiring each other to push further, the fun of a social group, the lower expense to the exerciser, the variety of interesting exercises that could be done together – breaking the monotony, and the accountability of having to be there for your partner in the group. You can get a lot done and get the motivation to succeed together. One aspect trainers need to be careful about is matching the groups to the right fitness levels, or, if that’s not possible, organizing the workout in a way that is effective for everyone in the group.
Pete McCall, M.S. , and exercise physiologist with American Council on Exercise expert, ACE-CPT with numerous additional certification from NSCA and NASM, predicts that
“participation in one-on-one personal training will decline in favor of small group or semi-private training sessions”. From the revenue stand point, it’s very beneficial for the trainers and Pete thinks “this may be the year we see revenue from small-group programming surpass revenue generated by one-on-one personal training.”
See all 10 2015 Fitness trends from ACE: https://www.acefitness.org/blog/5145/10-fitness-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2015.
Wellness rather than Fitness
This is how it should be, right? We need to start with our health & wellness, and fitness is simply a part of it, just like advertising is only a part of marketing. Though many people start a fitness program often with an intent to lose the belly fat or trim the thighs, they quickly realize that it takes a lot more than an exercise program. Our bodies will respond to muscle training and will jumpstart metabolism but no amount of cardio can trim the fat in the exact spot that you want. However, the right nutrition in combination with exercise can make the difference.
“In addition to nutrition, exercise is a key component of a proper weight loss program”, says Holly Hargrave. “Health and fitness professionals who provide weight loss programs are increasingly incorporating regular exercise and caloric restriction for better weight control in their clients.” This also explains why Health Coaching is so demand among the fitness experts. “As the US population gets older”, says Holly, “people want to be healthy and be able to take care of themselves rather than having 6-pack abs.” It starts small – “take a cookie and break it in half. You can’t go from mayo to nothing”, says Holly, “It’s progress. If you change your diet abruptly, your metabolism will change and slow to make up for the lack of food, so once you’re off the diet, you’ll gain even more weight.”
That’s why she emphasizes gradual nutrition changes and exercise. Exercise increases endorphin levels, so you’ll be happy without any of the potential [food] crutches. She predicts more wellness/fitness classes in the future. She believes mind /body wellness, such as yoga, Barre, Pilates and Holly’s AthleticGenius Sandblast which are all based on based on balance and intellectual focus with be booming.
This multi-tasking trend lends itself to the nutrition aspect of your health program as well – packing the plate with a variety of vitamins, complex carbs and lean proteins.
Jason Wachob, Co-Founder of the quickly-growing media platform dedicated to health and wellness, MindBodyGreen, says
“in 2014, we saw wellness catch on as meditation, health/fitness apps, and juice cleanses went mainstream. As consumer beliefs and values are rapidly shifting, MindBodyGreen is predicting the rise of the mindful millennial – which is one that strives to feel good, rather than look great, and one that places happiness and holistic well-being at the center of their lives. The Morning Party is the New After-Party: Gone are the days of drinking too much at networking events. If you’re looking to network, prepare to show up at 6am and enjoy some group meditation, stone cold sober.”
Then, there’s the rise of popular restaurants serving up healthy fare without marketing themselves as “healthy.” We’re going to see more of that – Jason says “Get ready to see more organic, farm-to-table ingredients, grass-fed meats, gluten-free options, and even green juice cocktails popping up on menus. In Los Angeles, for example, one of the toughest reservations is Roy Choi’s Commissary, where you’ll find a menu that’s filled with vegetables and fresh, fruit-infused drinks. Then there’s the incredible expansion of the fast-casual sweetgreen in DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. With lines around the corner, sweetgreen is showing how popular organic, local salads can be. But none of the above make a big deal about the health benefits of their menus. Their success comes from the quality of the food alone, which tastes pretty good!
